Emergency declared at Port of Brisbane

Emergency workers have cleaned up a highly toxic chemical spill from a ship's
container at the Port of Brisbane.
Police declared an emergency situation at Fisherman Island on Saturday and evacuated
the immediate area after the chemical ethanolamine leaked from a ship's container
onto hatch covers at the port.
The container, which was unloaded from the ship around 12.30pm AEST, was quickly
isolated.
"We've cleaned up the hatch covers and we're trying to contain the leak and the
spill from the container," said Phil Klemm, Brisbane duty manager of operations for
the Queensland Fire Service.
"Because it's a pollutant material we made sure it didn't have any contact with the
environment.
"We've managed to contain it to concrete and bitumen areas."
Ethanolamine is a toxic, flammable and colourless liquid with an odour similar to
ammonia.
The Fisherman Island area, at the mouth of the Brisbane River, was evacuated as a
precautionary measure.
No-one was injured.
Emergency workers, wearing protective suits, covered the chemical with absorbent
material and placed it into Overpack drums used to clean up contaminated sites.
"We had a few people complaining of sore throats and eye irritation, which was a
by-product of the chemical material, but nobody had direct exposure," Mr Klemm said.
"It can be (deadly) if induced into the system but we've avoided any contact with it."